When to Declare Riichi

The default: riichi

If your closed hand is tenpai with no other yaku, riichi. Without it you can't ron at all. Even with another yaku, riichi usually adds more value than it costs: one guaranteed han, a chance at ippatsu, ura dora, and tsumo becoming its own yaku. For a cheap hand, that's often the difference between 1,000 and 5,200 points.

When to stay quiet (dama)

• The hand is already big. With 5+ han dama, an extra han from riichi barely moves the score (mangan stays mangan until 6 han), and a silent wait wins more often.
• You have a yaku and a great wait on a tile others will throw, especially late in the hand.
• You want flexibility: an ugly wait that a single draw could improve to a two-sided one.
• Placement: in the last hand (oorasu), if a cheap win secures your position, take it quietly.

Wait quality matters less than you think

Beginners often refuse to riichi on a kanchan or tanki. In practice, riichi on a bad wait is still usually right early in the hand: opponents fold against riichi and your tsumo chances carry the hand. What matters more is how many tiles are left and whether your waiting tile has already been discarded a lot.

Choose the better wait when you can: (kanchan, waits on 2) is worse than (ryanmen, waits on 2 and 5).

The cost of riichi

• 1,000 points on the table, which goes to whoever wins next.
• You can't fold: you must discard every tile you draw, even dangerous ones.
• Everyone knows you're tenpai, so they'll avoid your tiles.

Late in the hand with few tiles left, or when someone else is clearly ahead and pushing, those costs grow.

Try it

Mahjong Sushi gives you a tip the first time a riichi is possible, and the result screen breaks down exactly what riichi added to each win. See the riichi yaku page for the full rules.

More strategy

• Tile Efficiency for Riichi Mahjong
• Defense: How to Fold Against Riichi